Auxiliary door lock



Patented May 16,A `195() "'Wlliam 1H; Brewer;- Dallas,y Tex., assigner` to Cf M. Brazelton, Waco, Tex.

:Applicationz'May: 115, 1947,`1Serial"No. 748,165

'Thisinvention relates-to 'new-and useful .improvements in'y :auxiliarydoorlocks aridfmorepan ticlarly tof-vehicle doorfsafetyflatches.

mobiles orother-vehicles, :which lock is 'Lof'.such

*construction a's-to fprevent A'accidental opening f f? the door uponwhichftliefsame is v, mounted.

"Another*obj'tffffthefinvention is Vto provide anlmproved auidliaryyhicle door lock adapted to be mounted-.upona-front-opening rear door and having a `forwardly-projecting portion for engaging'the adjacentifront "door,` whereby opening of the rear door without opening of said adjacent front'doo'r.isprevented.

VAfurther object of the invention is to provide an` improved safety latchadaptedto be frictionally mounted upon Ythe"tf`.\`pprojecting` flange of a vehicle f'doorlandhaving.laifiattened tongue for confinement against thetop. ange .of s. an adjacent door so as to lock one of the doors against opening when the adjacent door is closed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved door lock, of the `character described, which is of simple, compact construction and which is readily mountable upon and removable from a vehicle door without detracting from'the appearance of the vehicle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved auxiliary door lock of the character described, which is so constructed as to be capable of being mounted upon and removed from a vehicle door Without the use of tools and which, if desired, may be carried on the body of a person when not in use.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

' The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing,

'wherein an example of the invention is shown.

and wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a portion of a vehicle having an auxiliary lock, constructed in accordance with the invention, mounted on its rear door,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the lock,

Fig. 3 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view, taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, 1

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical, sectional View, taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the lock, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lock.

In the drawing, the numeral I0 designates as 56 a vehicle having adjacently or contiguously opening doors, such :as .therusual front .fa-nd:` rear? doors il and I2. These doors are formed v`with-stime usual` projecting marginal .portions orilangesi3 and I4 whichassist insealing the-door open;- ings. An auxiliary door-le`ckror safety latch-I5, embodying the featuresofthe-present invention, is shown mounted onftheftopedgefportion-of-the marginal .flange I4 of thevrear door I2withI-the forwardly-projecting .por-tionof .theflockcorned beneath the flange I3` of thefrontfdoor I I. .When so vmounted, opening 'of .the rear-door 4is .prevented when the 'frontfdoor -is closed. VAlthough this mounting of theauxliary..lockis preferred, it is manifest that. said .lock` could 'be-mounted Vupon' thefront door so'as/to`overlie"Y the rear door. In either event, the lock `functions to prevent accidental or unintentinallopening ffthe 'rear door. `By mountingftheflock on'the rear door, the ,possibility Lof lmariiri'g "the "door "lan'ges i's eliminated.

The lock I5 includes an elongated, iiat body I6 of general rectangular shape. It is preferable to form the body I6 of relatively thin metal bent upon itself along its longitudinal axis to provide a pair of contiguous, substantially parallel legs I1 (Figs. 3 6). Rigidity is imparted to the body by providing a coextensive, semi-circular rib or bead I8 at the bend of said body (Figs. 3, 4 and 6). The major portions of the legs I1 are spaced from each other to provide a longitudinal channel or recess I9 therebetween which is in the nature of a slot having an opening bottom and end. At the opposite end of the body, the legs are pressed together in abutting relation to form a flattened tongue 20 which is in axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said body. If desired, the tongue 2l] may be cut out, as shown by the numeral 2|, to provide a hook 22 of the type commonly employed as a bottle opener.

As has been explained, the lock I5 is adapted to be mounted upon the rear door of a vehicle to prevent accidental opening of the same. The channel I9 is engaged upon the ange Ill of the door I2 at its upper forward edge portion, wher by the tongue 20 projects forwardly thereof so as to engage beneath and be confined by the adjacent portion of the front door iiange I3 when the doors are closed. It is noted the channel is of a width substantially equal to the thickness of the door flange so as to have a snug fit thereupon and be frictionally fastened thereto. Since the tongue is Aaligned with the longitudinal axis of the lock, the latter is interchangeable and may be used on either a right or left hand door.

asoam From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that an improved auxiliary door lock or safety latch of simple, compact construction has been provided. Athough unintentional opening of a vehicle door is prevented by the lock, there is no interference with opening or closing of the adjacent coacting door. Due to its construction, the lock may be mounted upon either of contiguous or adjacent vehicle doors to prevent opening of the door upon which said lock is mounted or opening of the other door. However, the lock is less obtrusive and detracts least from the appearance of the vehicle when mounted upon the door desired to be latched against accidental opening. 'Ihe lock is readily mounted or removed without the use of tools so as to be transferable from one door to another or from one vehicle to another. Thus, it may be desired to use the lock only when children or elderly persons are riding in a vehicle or when the usual door lock is defective. Due to small size of the lock, the same may be readily carried upon the body of a person in a pocket or purse or in a compartment of the vehicle so as to be instantly available for use. Since the tongue 2U of the lock is provided with the hook 22, said lock may be used in the manner of an ordinary bottle opener when not employed as an auxiliary door latch.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as Well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made. within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An auxiliary lock of the `character described including, a strip of sheet material bent upon itself along its longitudinal axis to provide a rigid elongated body of substantially U-shaped crosssection, said body having each of its side faces adjacent one of its ends bent inwardly toward each other to provide a pair of oppositely disposed and outwardly facing depressed portions and to provide a channel extending from said depressed portions toward and through the opposite end of said body.

2. An auxiliary safety latch for one of a pair of adjoining doors of a multi-doored vehicle, each of said doors having free upper and lower end edges and a free front edge, including a onepiece elongated substantially rigid sheet metal body, and resilient securing means formed on one end of said body for readily detachable frictional engagement with at least one of the said free 'edges of one of the doors so as to be supported thereby, the over-all length of said body being such that the opposite end thereof extends between and into the path of movement of an adjacent free edge of the other of said pair of doors, said last named projecting end of the body being engaged with said adjacent free edge of the last named door to prevent independent opening movement of said one door when both doors are closed, and wherein the one-piece elongated substantially rigid sheet metal body has its projecting end iiattened 0n opposite sides thereof to dene a tongue, the thickness of which latter is less than the thickness of the remainder of the body.

WILLIAM H. BREWER.

REFERENCES CTTED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Schnell Feb. 16, 1943 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Science, June 1946.

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